Elusive Candidate Assumes Seat on Orange, Calif., School Board

The “mystery” candidate elected to the school board in Orange, Calif., made his first appearance at a board meeting last month. Steve Rocco’s attendance at the Dec. 9 meeting ended weeks of speculation, since his election on Nov. 2, about whether the reclusive candidate would indeed serve on the panel.

Mr. Rocco, who defeated a well-known PTA leader without running an evident campaign or making public appearances, attended the new board’s first meeting wearing black clothing, a ski cap, and dark sunglasses. He gave no indication whether he had a particular agenda for the 32,000-student Orange Unified School District.

Mr. Rocco told the audience that “we are living in a time of secret organizations, living in a time of corruption, and, most of all, living in a time of dictatorships.” He also paid homage, in Italian, to his recently deceased father.